[qayxc]

> Fortunately we didn't go the German route

You're missing the fact that all German nuclear power plants are already beyond their initial lifespan and that there simply has been no renewal of operation licenses.

No new reactors have been built since the mid-1980s so this isn't exactly a recent trend. The same applies to France, btw. The newest reactor in France started construction in 2007(!) and is expected to become operational in 2023(!).

The next newest French reactor started construction in 1991...

So much for the state of nuclear power in the world's posterchild of nuclear power.

[chelical]

And yet France still has half the CO2 emissions per capita of Germany and significantly cheaper energy.

[qayxc]

The electricity costs are >90% taxes, though and Germany's industrial output is also significantly higher than France's.

Per capita calculations are therefore flawed from the very start and not a useful metric.

Looking at actual data reveals a clear trend: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/a1i2y40rtyg7s3p/AAAjxiD5DhvWmcyK2...

France's electricity production from nuclear shrinks similarly year-on-year to Germany's reduction in electricity production from coal.

Also no new reactors have been built in France in over a decade. Make of that what you will.

[empiricus]

it seems that we become too dumb to build nuclear stations. this is worrying

[pyrale]

More like anti-nuclear groups are extremely effective at FUD, and don't fear lying to people. They have literally used every dirty trick in the book to kill commercial nuclear policies. For instance, a large majority of french people believe that nuclear contributes to global warming [1].

Of course, if you freeze an industry for 20 years, there is going to be some loss of knowledge and know-how.

[1]: https://www.bva-group.com/sondages/francais-nucleaire-sondag...

[Lammy]

> They have literally used every dirty trick in the book to kill commercial nuclear policies.

https://tmi2kml.inl.gov/Documents/2a-Kemeny/Presidents%20Com...

"Deliberate valve mispositioning cannot be confirmed or completely dismissed. In regard to the last point, the Commission chairman requested that the FBI reexamine this possibility. The FBI response indicates that they have not found sufficient grounds for further investigation. SUMMARY: The findings from this analysis are as follows: There has been no positive identification of an explanation for the valves being in the closed position."

The really sad part about the TMI accident is that the entire thing could have been avoided if TMI had modified its cooling system with the lessons learned from a literally-identical series of events that happened two years earlier at an also-identical Babcock&Wilcox BWR in Ohio. Davis-Besse was luckily operating at 9% power instead of at 100% like TMI in Pennsylvania in 1979: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1920/ML19208C067.pdf#page=4

"On September 24, 1977, Davis Besse Nuclear Power Station Unit No. 1 experienced a depressurization when a pressurizer power relief valve failed in the open position. The Reactor Coolant System (RCS) pressure was reduced from 2255 psig to 875 psig in approximately twenty-one (21) minutes. At the beginning of this event, steam was being bypassed to the condenser and the reactor thermal power was at 263 MW, or 9.5%. Electricity was not being generated. The following systems malfunctioned during the transient:

a. Steam and Feedwater Rupture Control System (SFRCS).

b. Pressurizer Pilot Actuated Relief Valve.

c. No. 2 Steam Generator Auxiliary Feed Pump Turbine Governor"

"At approximately 21 minutes into the transient, the operators discovered that the pressurizer power relief valve was stuck open. Blowdown via this valve was stopped by closing the block valve, thus terminating the reactor vessel depressurization. The RCS pressure recovered to normal and cooldown of the system followed."

"The reason for the spurious 'half-trip' of the SFRCS has not yet been determined. An extensive investigation revealed several loose connections at terminal boards, but nothing conclusive. Investigation into the failure of the pressurizer pilot actuated relief valve revealed that a 'close' relay was missing from the control circuit. This missing relay would normally provide a 'seal-in' circuit which would hold the valve open until the pressure dropped to 2205 psig. Without the relay the power relief valve cycled open and closed each time the pressure of the RCS went above or below 2255 psig. The rapid cycling of the valve caused a failure of the pilot valve stem, and this failure caused the power relief valve to remain open."

Some engineers-turned-Hollywood-consultants even went public trying to warn us about these problems in the industry. At least we got an actually really good movie out of it which in a singularity of the universe's ultimate irony came out two weeks before the TMI accident and actually contains a line that says "an area the size of Pennsylvania" could be left radioactive and uninhabitable. I have it on LaserDisc and it's one of my favs :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GE_Three https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nemYBeT4aQY